Can I Come In?
by Jily.Love
Summary: Lauren and Darren are neighbors. They both have their own problems, but can they look past that to start a relationship? May be triggering.


**Hi! So I was bored today and I wrote this.**

**A few notes: Yes, I know that Lauren and Darren grew up in different states. Believe that they're neighbors for the sake of the story!**

**Any personality traits/ events are purely for the sake of the story, and not meant to be a personal attack on anyone.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lauren heard something clatter against her window. "Can I come in?" Darren mouthed at her.

Lauren looked over at her door. Her dad would be downstairs, no doubt drugged up and passed out. Still, she shook her head. "I'll be there in a second," she mouthed back. She slipped a few pillows under the blankets as a decoy and winced as she painstakingly eased her window open.

She clambered over the windowsill and landed on the roof with a soft thump. Darren's face lit up when he saw her. He was sitting on the corner of his roof, arms wrapped around his legs. Even though it was midsummer, the night air was cool. Lauren imitated his position and leaned against her house, dangling one foot into the gap between their roofs. It was a small gap, big enough that they could both easily cross it, even at nine years old. But they didn't. It was an unspoken rule that Darren stayed on his roof, and Lauren stayed on hers.

"What happened to your arm?" Darren asked Lauren, even though he already knew. She had a big bruise there, purple and blue.

"My dad," she answered calmly, playing along. There were no secrets between them. Darren knew that her dad was abusive, that he drank and did drugs and hit her until she could barely move. Lauren knew that Darren's parents would sometimes leave him home alone for days on end, leaving him to fend for himself. Sometimes she would sneak food from her kitchen when her dad was too out of it to care, and pass it across to Darren, who scarfed it as though he hadn't eaten in days.

Darren pressed his foot to Lauren's. "It'll be okay," he promised, desperately trying to believe it.

"LAUREN," they heard the shout from a story below. She trembled.

"I have to go."

"Lauren, wait.."

But she was already climbing back into the house and closing the window.

* * *

Lauren heard a clatter at her window. "Can I come in?" Darren mouthed at her.

Lauren shook her head. "I'll be right out."

She quickly smoothed some concealer over a bruise on her cheek, and a little more over a bruise on her leg. Her dad had beat her up yesterday for burning a dinner she hadn't even made yet.

Lauren handed a bottle of water across to Darren as soon as she was outside. At fifteen, he had a part time job after school and on weekends, but it was only enough for him to buy a little food and maybe a few clothes. He couldn't afford the water bill when his parents weren't home.

"How are you?" Darren asked. "How's the boyfriend?"

"We're both good," Lauren said quietly.

"You know I don't like him, Lo," Darren told her.

"Jacob doesn't hurt me," Lauren defended._ At least not physically_, she added in her head. It was true. Jacob had never hit her, but his words left deep internal scars.

"I see the way he looks at you," Darren said. "You're just an object to him."

Lauren was suddenly angry. "I can take care of myself, Darren," she snapped. "I don't need you to look out for me." She stood abruptly.

"Lo, please.."

"Leave me alone," Lauren whisper-shouted, already in her room. She slammed her window shut and pulled the curtains.

* * *

It was late when Lauren heard the familiar clatter of pebbles on her window. Darren was standing on the edge of his roof. "Can I come in?" he mouthed.

"I'll be right out."

She didn't bother to pull on jeans or a sweatshirt, just climbed out in a tank top and shorts. The dark bruises on her pale legs were on full display, and a row of scars went all the way up her left arm.

The scars were new. Darren hadn't seen Lauren at all since the night they had fought, almost a year before.

"Lauren.."

"Don't." Her voice came out in a miserable whisper.

"Don't what?" Darren asked.

"Don't tell me it's all going to be okay. Don't tell me that we'll make it through this together. We both know that it's all a lie." Her eyes were hopeless.

"It's never going to get better."

"You've made it this far," Darren tried to convince her.

"Why bother anymore?" Lauren asked. "It's not worth it. It's never been worth it."

"Lauren.."

"Please," she whispered. "Just stop."

* * *

There was a clatter of pebbles on the window, but Lauren ignored it. There was another clatter. Still, Lauren kept her attention on the book she was reading.

Darren could see Lauren in her room. He knew she was ignoring him. So he did what neither of them had ever done- he took a step across the gap.

Lauren heard a knocking sound. "Darren?" she said out loud as she turned to look at the window.

Darren smiled at her. "Can I come in?" he mouthed. For the first time, Lauren nodded as she hurried to open the window.

"What are you doing here?" she asked when he had climbed into the room.

"Lauren, I don't know how to say this," Darren said, "but I need to tell you. I love you so much. And I don't know what I would do if you weren't on Earth." He took a deep breath. "Lauren, I'm living for you. And if you left me, I don't know what I'd do."

"You're living.. for me?" Lauren asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Darren replied. "I'm living for your smile. I'm living for the way you laugh. I'm living for the way you make me feel like I'm actually worth something."

Lauren took a step forward and tentatively wrapped her arms around him. "You mean it?" she whispered.

"With all my heart," Darren pulled her closer to him. "I'll never leave you, Lauren. I promise."

"I love you," she whispered.

In that moment, both knew that they would never leave the other.

* * *

**This is what happens when I have nothing to do on a weekend! Please review! I want to know what you think :)**


End file.
